State education commissioner John King encouraged parents to take a more active role in their child's education. King warned that progress toward the new state standards would only continue to speed up unimpeded by the low scores.

Some form of the new "Common Core" standards have been adopted in 46 states, and many educators have thrown their support behind them.

There is, however, a strong opposition voice complaining that the new tests were administered too early for teachers to teach the new material. Some, including Voorheesville Superintendent Teresa Thayer Snyder, say the new tests were designed for a large failure rate and that scores will gradually improve over the next few years to prove that the new standards are working, and to justify the hundreds of millions of dollars the state accepted from the federal government to improve student performance.

Reader's left their thoughts and frustrations on the new tests in the comments section. Here's a sampling of what they had to say:

From JGage: Just wondering, were the teachers tested to see if they were even qualified to teach the students this content? The way it was taught to my daughter made it extremely difficult to help her at home. They need to seriously rethink the way they're teaching our kids. They simply don't understand it.

From AJK: There are several questions that the public needs to ask: how do we compare to the rest of the country, are the state standards realistic, are the teachers and their curricula capable of these standards? This state spends one of the highest amounts per student in the country so there is no reason that our students should be doing so poorly unless: school boards and administrators are not using the monies properly to educate our students, our curricula are outdated, or too much money is going to extra-curricular activities. When these questions are answered, only then will we know the truth of our failing education system.

From optiplex2424: Our education policies are created by people that have never been in front of a classroom. Here is an idea, lets stop throwing money into new tests, into new research, and let teachers at the local level teach. Let local districts outline curriculum. Create an outline of what kids need to know by the time they graduate and allow school districts to get them there. Right now it is impossible! The path changes every few years when another genius comes along with their brilliant plan. Teachers right now are like a GPS in the car that is constantly recalculating a new route because policy has forced another wrong turn! Cut spending by not buying tests and review materials. Slash jobs at the state and federal level and allow local districts to do what they are suppose to do....teach.

From waccokid: First of all if you are asking is "my child on track" chances are you are a concerned parent who values education and your child should be fine.

Second of all I am not sure who came up with an idea to give children tests on things that are not taught in the curriculum. These tests from the start are putting the children and teachers at a disadvantage. The end result are teachers are going to start teaching for these tests (that can determine if they are effective or not) taking away from other key elements that should be given in the classroom. The tests would be fine if they were based on the child's actual education. These tests are just another waste of our government's money.

From Jackie Schmidts: These scores don't mean much. The problem with kids today is the social environment they are brought up in. Most kids have the ability to learn, if taught by competent teachers.

It would seem to me our education leaders could have had a better plan to implement their goals. Give everyone time to learn the new material, kids and teachers. What have they accomplished by making everyone feel like a failure, other than furthering their political aspirations to increase their education budgets?

From OrangeChuck44: How is this helping our students? Standardized testing and people blaming each other for the falling scores helps nobody. What we should be concentrating on is ways to help the students become better citizens and better educated no matter what economic situation they have at home. Let's find out what actually works to educate our kids and emphasize that...Every year we spend fighting is another years millions of kids can name more Justin Bieber hits than they can past presidents, think 12x12 should only be resolved by using their smart phone or the response to thank you is "your welcom!" I do not think the answer is pushing every student to be a brain surgeon but it is to give every person who wants to be the chance to prove they have the opportunity to do so.

What do you think about parents' concerns over the state test results? Leave a comment below.